MasterCard on Thursday said it had signed a deal with a Myanmar
bank that it hopes will pave the way for electronic payments, in an
impoverished country where most transactions are made in cash.

A licence deal with Myanmar’s Co-Operative Bank lays the groundwork for
its cards to be issued and accepted in the country, the company said, a
move that follows the easing of United States financial restrictions to
reward reforms.

The inability to pay for goods or withdraw cash with credit cards is a
symptom of years of tough international sanctions against the former
military dictatorship, which gave way to a quasi-civilian regime last
year.

People are currently obliged to carry all their money in wads of cash — a
particular challenge for tourists and foreign businesses — with even
upmarket hotels only sporadically able to offer credit-card payments.

MasterCard said in a statement that the move towards a credit-card
network in the country would have a “huge impact on tourism and travel”
and would be “crucial in helping Myanmar connect to the global economy”.

The firm also said it would help bring more of Myanmar’s population — estimated at over 50 million — into the financial system.

Georgette Tan, of MasterCard Worldwide in Singapore, said the entire
process of getting cards issued and accepted in Myanmar “would take some
months”.

She added that there were around 80 ATMs in Myanmar — which are not
currently connected to international banking — and the Co-Operative Bank
accounts for about 30 percent of those.